Bullying in the Workplace: An Unspoken Issue?!

Hey, guys! Today’s post is written by Matt. A 22 year old guy from Cardiff, Wales. He and I met through Twitter and @Hidden_Beth, who also was kind enough to do a post for MKC (you can read her story here). Please check out the awesome post he wrote on the problems with workplace bullying and what needs to happen in order to stop it.

Here’s to Matt’s post:

Bullying in the workplace.

Bullying in the workplace a major issue in the UK, which is sad. It shouldn’t be and that’s how I am going to start this blog. Bullying should not be an issue in the UK or anywhere, whether you are 14 or 40. It just shouldn’t.

There are huge after effects with any kind of bullying in any walk of life and at any age. It doesn’t just happen and finish and I think you only know this if you have been through it yourself. And, if you think that bullying and what happens to you doesn’t stay with you, it does — in the worst ways imaginable.

If you are bullied at School and in Work, you feel it constantly and forever, and at no point will what happened to you during bullying leave you. It can bring about so many issues for people from mental to physical issues. Just to name a few, depression, anorexia, self harm. They aren’t even the worst, suicide is included – something I’ve had issues with myself.

I find that working with the same people on a day to day basis can be quite stressful and I will admit that you cannot be friends with everyone, although that would be nice it’s not possible.

So what can be done? Tighter Restrictions? Bringing Back a Cane? No, none of these things will help. We need to use our brains to overcome these problems and it certainly won’t be done overnight, if anything it will take much much longer.

Overcoming the issue is a long term deal and is something I have thought about a lot. Being a victim is something you think about: How do we stop it in the future? What can we change?

How It Happens

Bullying in the workplace can have many guises and not many people will actually know it’s happening to them. For example, a workplace bullying scenario and/or calling someone a name could be a complete misunderstanding to the person bullying, but it could have a huge effect. It really can be a minefield for some.

As I was writing this blog, a tweeter spoke to me about her experience of work place bullying which really was the worst I’ve come across. I spoke to her about what she went through and how it was her boss who bullied her. This is a terrible thing to go through. Especially from a boss.

What Can Be Done

This is a question on most peoples lips and there is not too much that can be done as of right now. Workplace bullying is falling on deaf ears in society at the moment and very few charities are out there helping people through it, which does need to change. If you are in the workplace and you are getting bullied then do the following – you may need to get this done pretty quietly though.

1. It may be wise to try and find a new job.You may like your job but to stop it happening again, then it might be best to find a new place to work!

2. Report, report, report.There are procedures in place to stop this happening, report the grievance to the HR department, if it’s an employee, if it’s a manager then report it and get out.

3. Get out and keep your head down!The worst step to do, leaving a good job because of bullying isn’t the right thing to have to do but until there is a better alternative you are left with no other choice.

To wrap up this confusing and thinly put together blog, I finish with this. More needs to be done by the government to tackle workplace bullying as there are no charities to do it – it can have such a huge effect on peoples lives, many people don’t have the confidence to go back to work after being bullied. So I ask you, the readers of this blog – make a stand, where ever you are in the world. Show people that this needs to stop. Stand up and be heard. Stamp out bullying.

Thanks so much for your post and the GREAT suggestions on how to handle workplace bullying, Matt! While you’re right in that there isn’t much in the media on this topic, I’ve seen a few really great Twitter accounts that deal with this issue. It would be really cool if there was an organization that promoted kindness in the workplace. Does anyone know of any?

In the meantime, check out this website (here!). It’s from the US, but could be applicable to workplace bullying anywhere.

Welcome to My Kindness Counts!

Hi, I'm Jessica Simmons! The mission of My Kindness Counts is to encourage young people from around the nation to work together to brainstorm better, more positive ways to address bullying in our communities. Interested in sharing what you're doing to help others? Send me an email!Follow @Kindness_Counts